India's biggest OTT hit in 2025 so far: No big star cast, no gimmick, yet beats Aashram, Panchayat, Squid Game 3 with 27.7M views

Having watched numerous web series, national and international, you might be thinking that the popular K-drama Squid Game or OTT blockbusters like Aashram or Panchayat might be the biggest hits in India. But here comes the shocking twist! The Indian web series, which hit OTT this year, Criminal Justice Season 4 wears the crown. Yes, you heard it right. In the wide range of oceanic content on Netflix, Prime Video, ZEE5, JioHotstar and JioCinema, Criminal Justice: A Family Matter stood out as India's most-watched original streaming series as of the first half of 2025. Leading the chart at the very top, this legal drama has bagged an astonishing 27.7 million views.

India's biggest OTT hit so far in 2025

India's most watched and biggest OTT hit in the first half of 2025 is not Bobby Deol's Aashram, Jitendra Kumar’s Panchayat or global sensation Squid Game Season 3; it's Pankaj Tripathi's Criminal Justice: A Family Matter (Season 4). The viewers are impressed by Tripathi's quiet yet powerful performance as Madhav Mishra, and gave the show a massive viewership count of over 27 million on JioHotstar.

The rankings are a result of the report, Top 50 streaming originals in India, released by Ormax Media for the first half of 2025. Ranking first in the list is Criminal Justice: A Family Matter with 27.7 million views, surpassing Ek Badnaam Aashram Season 3 Part 2 (27.1 million) at second place and Panchayat Season 4 (23.8 million) at third place on Amazon Prime Video. Notably, the rankings are based on the number of unique individuals who watched the show or its episodes at least once. For shows, one full episode is required to be watched, and for films, a minimum of 30 seconds of watch time.

What sets Pankaj Tripathi's Criminal Justice: A Family Matter apart?

The new season was produced by Applause Entertainment in collaboration with BBC Studios. The show is a courtroom drama showcasing Pankaj Tripathi as advocate Madhav Mishra, delivering a standout performance. Other stars from the show include Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, Khushboo Atre and Asha Negi. The series delivered relatable emotional arcs and layered performances, which earned it record-breaking views without a marquee star cast.

The first three episodes of Criminal Justice Season 4 were released on May 29, 2025, with the remaining dropping weekly. Pankaj Tripathi's franchise, Criminal Justice, streaming on JioHotstar, proves that quality content that prioritises script, narration, and performances rather than marketing gimmicks will always be a hit with audiences.

Other top hits that made it to the list are Paatal Lok (Amazon Prime Video), Squid Game S3 (Netflix), The Legend of Hanuman S6, The Royals, The Secret of the Shieldars, Chidiya Udd and Jewel Thief.